


The End of My (Sophomore) Year

by asarahworld



Series: zoms and poms [1]
Category: Z-O-M-B-I-E-S (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Post-Canon, Written before Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-05-19 19:18:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19362799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asarahworld/pseuds/asarahworld
Summary: Zeddison wrap up their sophomore year of high school.  Set just after the end of the first movie.





	1. The Countdown is On

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first DCOM I've seen since... Suite Life? But I've just watched Zombies (a..few times...) as well as Descendants and they were so good! Also, can I just say that Zeddison are just as adorable as Troyella? Is that too far? (I don't care.)
> 
> (*starts right at the end of the movie*) (Insp. By Zeddison’s almost kiss at the Zombie block party)
> 
> ((I don’t know how American high schools work. I don’t know how football works. I don’t know how homecoming works. I do know that Zeddison are adorable.))

“Hey, Addison?”

Addison looked back to Zed, reveling at the easy mélange of humans and zombies, certain that he was as happy as she felt. To her surprise, Zed looked nervous.

“Hey,” she bumped her shoulder against his chest, “what’s wrong?”

“Wrong? Nothing,” his grin returned, though Addison could still see that something wasn’t right. “Nothing could possibly be wrong right now, Addi. Look.” Zed turned his head – everywhere he looked, there were humans and zombies; his parents with Addison’s parents, Zoey playing with her new puppy, cheerleaders and jocks and zombies mingled together with ease – until he was facing Addison again.

“Come on, Zed. There’s something on your mind, something more than what happened at the cheer championships.” Addison stopped walking, and Zed allowed her to pull him forward to face her, her hands covering his.

“Look, Addison,” his fingers tightened over hers slightly, to which she responded with a warm hug. Zed felt himself relax and he rested his chin on her head, closing his eyes and savoring the moment. “You, uh, know that after the, uh, game, there’s usually a dance?” They had faced the best and worst of humans and zombies, and yet here he was, stumbling over his words.

“I guess so. I have to say, I was so focused on making the cheer squad and keeping this,” she nodded her head, shaking her short white hair, “kinda a secret that I never really gave it much thought.”

“Right, yeah, of course. Uh, I guess you know that it’s a week today.” Where had that confidence gone, everything had been going so smoothly two minutes ago. Now that he was alone with Addison, Zed’s vulnerabilities were cracking through again.

“Yeah, the squad’s been talking about it. Bucky was trying to coordinate everybody’s outfits. With all the people he’d cut, it wasn’t looking very good,” Addison pulled away, letting their hands (still intertwined) drop to their sides.

“Right, uh, the thing is…” Zed trailed off, looking away. He licked his lips, raising his head to look her in the eyes. “Addison, will you go to the homecoming dance with me?”

“Yes! Please say yes, Addi!”

Zed exhaled, not quite laughing but too relieved not to chuckle at his sister’s interruption. “Hey Zoey,” he smiled as Addison broke away, leaning down to scratch Zoey’s new dog behind the ear. “Who’s this, then?”

“Puppy,” Zoey said gleefully.

“Why don’t you take Puppy and show it to Dad, okay Zoey?” Zed watched his sister as she found their father, trying to give Addison some space to…to do what, he wasn’t sure.

“Yes.”

Zed looked back to Addison, feeling his face light up. “Yeah?”

Addison’s smile returned in full. “Of course, I’ll go to the dance with you. I know this might be crazy, but did you hear the story?”

Zed pulled her into a hug, a grin splitting his face. “I think I heard it (vaguely), a girl and a zombie.”

“Oh, tell me more, boy. Sounds like a fantasy,” Addison wrapped her arms around him. The last time they had talked like this, she was certain that would have kissed her if they hadn’t gotten back to the hallway so quickly.

Not someday. Today. Zed and Addison, not just the human and the zombie or the cheerleader and the jock, were dates to the homecoming dance. The homecoming dance, which followed the homecoming game, which they had just won… today.

“Zed, the dance is next week!”

“Aw, Addi, you don’t have plans, do you? Cuz that would totally ruin everything,” Zed looked into Addison’s eyes, marveling at how she made him feel.

“No, but I need to make plans. Dress shopping, hair styling, nails… Zed, I have to get ready.”

“Addi, the dance isn’t until next week. You’ll look amazing,” Zed’s embrace tightened as he reassured her. Addison relaxed in his arms when –

“Addison, it’s time to go home!”

The couple looked up to see Addison’s parents walking towards them.

“I’ll see you on Monday?”

“Yes, of course.” Addison stepped towards her parents, not releasing Zed’s hand. “Zed, I…”

“I’ll see you at school, Addi,” Zed smiled softly, feeling like he had to kiss her, but still wary of the approaching humans. He slipped back to Zombietown, looking down the road until Addison, Missy, and Dale had disappeared to go back inside.

“Did she say yes, Zed?” Zoey and Puppy were immediately hanging on to him. When her brother did not answer right away, Zoey repeated the question. “Zed, did she? Did you ask her? Did she ask you? You have to go with her, Zed.”

Zed dropped to the ground and woofed, grinning. He then waited for Zoey to convince Puppy to do the same, calling them “good boys”.

“She said yes, Zozo,” Zed finally shared. “Addison’s going to the dance with me,” he clarified when Zevon looked over questioningly.

The weekend passed slowly for Zed. As it had been Game Weekend, there had been no homework assigned (not that Mr. Zeck had ever really structured class, often giving them a supervised environment to do whatever they wanted). Addison was off somewhere with her cheermates, having been dragged into something to do with the squad getting ready for the big dance.

Eliza properly jailbroke his Z-band and he spent the days with her and Bonzo, exploring the virtual world. There was everything online – there was even an old article about the Z-outbreak on the Seabrook paper’s site. There was also a lot of information about homecoming.

• Homecoming is an annual tradition in the United States. People, towns, high schools, and colleges come together, usually in late September or early October, to welcome back alumni, alumnae and former residents  
• It is built around a central event, such as a banquet or dance and, most often, a game of American football  
• The homecoming court is a representative group of students that, in a coeducational institution, consists of a king and queen, and possibly prince(s) and princess(es).  
(How that even worked was beyond Zed’s grasp of humanity.)

As slowly as the weekend had passed, Monday was even slower. Zed hardly saw Addison, as people kept approaching him, to say hello, to say that they didn’t hate zombies (any more), to comment on the big game. Z-classes were cancelled, and each student had an appointment with the school advisor to choose subjects that fit into a proper timetable for the next school year.

Addison and Zed were kept apart, with Bucky citing it to be ‘bad luck’ for them to see their dates before the dance. Addison thought that was ridiculous, and that it only applied to weddings (“I’m not marrying Zed, Bucky!” “No, Addi, but this is only the biggest dance of the year!”)

Still, not being able to talk to Zed for the week had had its advantages. He would have no idea what to expect for her dress, and Bucky had sworn that it would knock his socks off. Finding a color that would give Addison some color but not clash with Zed’s hair had been a challenge that he had thrived on. Addison had tried on dress after dress until she had found the one. A light green (“tea green,” an exasperated Bucky had repeated hopelessly) dress with a sequined, ballerina-style mini skirt.

When Friday finally arrived, most of the students at Seabrook skipped their classes. The countdown to the dance was on, and they were going to be ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This dress {https://ss.tidebuy.com/images/product/c/106134/12941/12941009_1.jpeg}, but tea green.)
> 
> (Tea green aka hex #d0f0c0 aka rgb 208, 240, 192)
> 
> (And Zed, of course, is wearing that beautiful suit from the movie)
> 
> (As if I would dress these beautiful Mighty Shrimp in any colors that weren’t pink and green.)
> 
> (Also, none of these people have last names?? Except, like, Zed and ‘Stacey’.)


	2. The Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zed and Addi go to the dance

“You liked him enough when he looked human!” Addison said defiantly. “And that was actually dangerous – messing with his Z-band, just for your approval, could have killed him.”

“Addison, it’s not that we don’t like him,” her mother started to say something, but she was quickly interrupted by Dale.

“Addison, it’s not because he’s a zombie. But he is a boy, and worse than that, he’s the star of the football team…”

“Are you sure about that, Dad?” Addison was incredulous. “Are you sure that if Zed wasn’t a zombie, that you wouldn’t be totally against me going to the dance with him? Because that’s not what it looks like, especially when he met you for the first time.” She walked out of the hall, going back to touch up her makeup (hopefully) one last time. Her parents had been completely doting on Zed when he was just the Mighty Shrimp’s fullback.

The doorbell rang, at exactly thirty-two minutes past six. Addison knew that Zed had been hanging around her house for much longer, catching a glimpse of him pacing the sidewalk. She pulled the comb through her hair once more, then hurried to answer the door before her parents had the opportunity.

“Addison,” Zed exhaled, standing in the doorway and staring at the girl in front of him. “You… you look gorgeous,” he whispered.

“You look pretty nice, yourself,” Addison said breathlessly, reaching out automatically to take his hand.

“And you must be Addison’s date.” As if on cue, her parents joined them in the entrance. She felt Zed’s arm drop and she turned to face her parents, still holding hands with Zed.

Addison looked from her date to her parents. “You remember Zed,” she said carefully. Dale and Missy gave no indication that they did, but Dale shook his hand and gave him a lecture.

“No funny business. There will be chaperones at the dance and we will be at the school at precisely one a.m. to bring Addison home.”

“Of course, sir. We’re just two kids going to our first dance.” Zed squeezed Addison’s hand softly. This was Someday. Or at least the beginning of it. “And we’ll need to leave if we don’t want to be too late.”

“Good bye, Mom,” Addison said, feeling her heart race as Zed led her out the door. Once they were safely on the street, she breathed a sigh of relief. “That could have gone better,” she muttered.

“Hey, it also could have gone a LOT worse,” Zed said quietly.

Addison looked up at her date, a sad smile on her lips. “Yeah,” she agreed, stopping to give Zed a hug. As was usual, it took him a second to hug her back, his arms awkwardly finding their way to her height. Addison only held him tighter.

“You know, I wasn’t lying when I told your parents that we needed to go,” Zed said after a moment.

Addison’s family lived close to the school, and though the walk there was quite short, they only just made it. The gymnasium had been completely decked out in Seabrook colours, with everything from the sports banners to balloons tied down with ribbon. The dance attendees were crowded into the bleachers as the principal gave a few pre-dance announcements.

When the first song began to play over the speakers, Zed and Addi hung back. Though presented as an opportunity for all students to socialize, most of the attendees were human. In fact, Zed was more than willing to go out on a limb and say that he was the only Zombie in attendance. He’d known that Eliza wasn’t participating, but he’d thought that there would have been a few other students interested, given how much of a hit the Zombie block parties usually were.

As Zed rationalized in his head, Addison stood beside him, swaying slightly to the music. He offered her his hand, and her face lit up. The music was slower than their dances in the Z-room and every look, every touch, lasted just a little bit longer.

They spent the night in each others’ arms, side by side, out on the edge of the dance floor.

“Zed, it’s time for the squad’s presentation,” Addison saw Bucky and the Aceys approaching, already changed into their cheer attire. The cheerleaders were going to do a repeat performance of the routine from the pep rally, with some extra twists. After all, Seabrook was a cheer town first and foremost. “I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

Zed walked with her to meet the squad. “I’d like… my girlfriend… back before the end of the night,” he said stiffly, not looking at Addison, whose jaw had dropped.

“It’s one routine. You’ll have plenty of time to continue making out with her after.” Lynette Johnson, previously known as Stacey, rolled her eyes.

“Right, yeah, of course.” Addison didn’t know how to tell them that the most he had done was hold her hand. They weren’t even sixteen yet, even her fantasies hadn’t progressed much past making out.

The students crowded around the cheer squad, everyone clamouring to get a better view. Zed, star of the football team though he might have been, was pushed to the back. Not that he minded having some distance between the humans and himself, plus at nearly six foot two, he was taller than most (if not all) of his classmates and still had a perfect view of Addison. Of course, there was still a twinge on the back of his neck and short zaps from his Z-band each time his anxiety level spiked (which lasted for the entire time that Addison was in the air).

We are the mighty Shrimp! We wanna hear you shout! From the left and from the right, turn up the volume now! We are the Mighty Shrimp! It's time to show you now! We got the stuff to light you up, it's getting hotter now! We're getting hotter now! It's getting hotter now!

The only thing going through Addison’s mind through the routine was that Zed had just called his girlfriend.

In the cheerleaders’ dressing room, the squad was busy quickly touching up their dance outfits. Bucky and Bree fussed over Addison’s makeup too much for her liking, but she allowed them to work together to fix it up because her cousin and her best friend? Working together? Even though they were part of the same cheer squad, there was a small (though disappearing) gap between them and if spending a few extra minutes with them helped to smooth it over, then Addison was all for it.

“She looks perfect,” Bree sighed, smiling. “I think we’ve made Zed wait long enough, Addi, you should go out now.”

Bucky stiffened slightly at the mention of his cousin’s zombie boyfriend, placing his hand on Addi’s shoulder protectively. “Be careful, cuz.”

“Zed would never hurt me, Bucky.” Addison said, smiling. “But thanks for looking out for me. You’re still my favourite cousin.”

“Not what I meant, Addi. You’re only fifteen. And so is that kid, even if he is over six feet.”

Addison exited the dressing room, running to Zed as soon as she saw him. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered in her ear, hugging her so that her feet left the floor, before softly kissing her cheek. They were alone together at last.

“Gar gar ga za, Zed Necrodopolous,” Addison whispered, moving her arms down Zed’s body so she wasn’t straining.

“Gar gar ga za zoo, Addison.”

As the next song started, the young couple relaxed, gently swaying in time. Zed’s hands were cold on her bared back, but her chilled reaction was due more to the fact that Zed’s hands were on her back. An innocent enough position, but one that caused her to feel less than innocent.

One a.m. came far too quickly.

“I don’t want to go home yet,” Addison mumbled in his ear as students began filing out of the gym.

“I don’t either, Addi, but your parents are probably already in the parking lot waiting for you.” Zed replied, not moving to relinquish his hold on his girlfriend.

“How are you getting home?”

Zed shrugged. “Probably walk, same as usual.” He didn’t elaborate.

“What? Zed, no, it’s late, it’s-”

“Addi, it’s the same as getting out from practice.” That was a lie, and they both knew it. It was later than practice and there were still people in Seabrook who hated Zombies, hanging around for an opportunity to… cause mischief.

Pretending to believe him, Addison nodded. “Okay but think of it this way. If I walk you home, that’s twenty, maybe thirty minutes when we can be alone. Even though we were just at the dance together, I feel like I’ve barely seen you. Besides,” she softly shoulder-checked him, “what would Zoey say if she found out that I tried to come over and you denied her her favourite cheerleader?”

“Only for Zoey,” Zed grinned. “We can’t have my little sister mad at me. Besides, I think you need to see just how much Puppy has grown.”


	3. The Morning After

Addison’s parents had protested, as they had known they would, but had come around with a strict promise to be home before sunrise. Zed thought that that was rather generous of them, seeing as how they had really only met him once before, and that had been under somewhat falsified pretenses. Not to mention the whole talk they’d given him about picking Addy up at one. And the fact that they were only fifteen. But he wasn’t about protest more time with Addison.

“Hey Zed, what if we made a slight detour before I take you home?” Addison was up to something, but after a magical night with her, there was nothing he could deny her.

  
“Whatever you want, Addy.” If Zed had had a beating heart, it would have been bursting from his chest. As it was, there was something tightening in that area.

Addison smiled. “Tonight’s just been so wonderful, I don’t want it to end,” she admitted quietly.

Zed grinned. “Text your parents. Tell them, I don’t know, you’re spending the night with Bucky.”

“I’m not sleeping with you, Zed.” Addison paused. “Just sleeping together. No funny business?”

Zed gagged. “You think that I’d try to have sex with you when my little sister is in the same house?”

“Well, you are the star of the football team.”

“Um, I’m gonna try and forget that you even said that, Addy.”

Addison pulled her phone out, hitting the speed dial. “Hey, Bucky… no, not yet. Um, listen, could you tell my parents that you’re picking me up? No, no I don’t actually need a ride. Bucky, I promise, I will owe you one. Something major. Please?”

Bucky protested and Zed easily filched the phone from Addison’s hand. “Bucky, I swear to you that Addison will be safe. We’re just tired; she doesn’t want to walk all the way back to her place.”

There was a hiss through the phone. “If you do anything to my cousin, I will kill you.” There was a pause. “But it’ll be because you hurt Addy, not because you’re a zombie.”

Zed ignored the threat, zeroing in on the implied agreement. “Thank you,” he said awkwardly, hanging up.

“He agreed to cover for us?” Addison was shocked.

“More or less,” Zed lifted her up, spinning around.

“What about your Dad?”

Zed scoffed. “He won’t care. In fact, he’ll probably make ‘special’ caulibrains for breakfast,” he joked. “Two parts cauliflower, one part ‘special ingredient’. Wanna take a guess at what the special ingredient is?”

Addison gasped, bringing her hand to her chest for good measure. “Don’t tell me – it’s cauliflower?”

Zed grinned, noticing that Addi had tried to hide a yawn in her gasp. “Come on, let’s go.”

Once they were safely in Zed’s room, Addison realized just how tired she really was. She kicked her sneakers off and watched her boyfriend silently dig through his drawers.

“You probably don’t want to sleep in your skirt,” he said, awkwardly handing her a pair of faded purple sweatpants and a worn tee.

“Thanks,” Addison took the clothes, opening the bedroom door. “Um, which door for the bathroom?” Zed smiled, remembering that she had never been in his house before.

“End of the hallway by the stairs.” Zed watched as the door closed softly, then quickly changed into new boxers. He debated putting on a shirt, but ultimately, it wasn’t worth the extra effort of trying to quietly find something clean. Zoey was a light sleeper nowadays, and the last thing that he wanted to do was wake his little sister.

When Addison returned ten minutes later, her face was pink and her short hair had been twisted into pigtails. Zed was sitting at the desk. “Hey,” she smiled softly as she noticed that he was nearly asleep. “Zed, don’t fall out of the chair.” Addison took Zed by the hands and led him back to his bed. Zed was too tired to protest as she lay down next to him (practically on top of him) on the narrow bed. As he drifted off to sleep, he could have sworn that she’d whispered gar gar ga za.

When Zed woke up the next morning, it took him a minute to realize what the heavy mass on top of him was. Who would have thought that a tiny cheerleader could crush the star fullback of the football team? Addison’s face was warm against his bare chest, her breathing peaceful.

“Zed!” Zoey’s voice echoed down the hallway. “Zed, how many caulis do you want today?”

Addison was in his bedroom (in his bed). Zed certainly didn’t remember going to bed, he’d meant to sleep at the desk.

The phone buzzed. Carefully, Zed reached around his girlfriend’s sleeping form and picked it up. It was a simple text reading ‘Good morning sweetie! Let us know when you leave Bucky’s, see you tonight. Xo, Mom.' Zed couldn’t help but scoff at the Mayor’s message, quietly replacing the phone. Now that all the other distractions had been dealt with, he could focus on the most pressing one.

Somehow, he had to disentangle from under Addison and make it to the bathroom. Where she had decided to position her knee certainly wasn’t helping, either.

“Zed, are you awake?” Zoey bounced into his room, just in time to see her brother dive back under the covers. “Zed, Dad’s making breakfast!” She pouted when he didn’t answer, then said: “If you don’t come down soon, me and Puppy will eat alllllll the breakfast.” Zoey turned, skipping back down the hallway to the kitchen.

Now to extricate himself from his girlfriend. Any time he moved, Addison would move with him. Rolling onto his side had her pressed against his back. Lying on his back, and she would smush herself against his side. Zed absolutely loved it, which was exactly why he needed to leave and go to the bathroom. Heaving himself out of bed, Zed pressed a soft kiss to Addison’s forehead, before he trudged to the toilet and cleaned up. It had been so easy to not want to be with Addison before… Zed forced himself to think of something else as he washed up.

On his way back to his room, Zed ducked into the kitchen.

“Morning, son!” Zevon greeted him cheerfully. “Just in time for the last of the caulibrains!”

“Hey, Dad. Uh, listen, uh, don’t freak out, but, uh, Addison’s here.”

Zevon gave his son a disapproving stare. “Zed.”

“Dad, it's fine. Nothing happened, I swear. Addi just didn't feel like going home. Hey, I told her you might make the special caulibrains for breakfast.”

Zevon shook a spatula at his son threateningly. “Zed, when that girl goes home, you and me are going to have a serious talk.”

“Dad, no, Dad, it’s not like that. I swear, we have health classes in school.” It wasn’t completely a lie, but all the textbooks dealt with the living, and not the undead.  “Besides, do you really think that if I was gonna… do stuff, with Addison that I would bring her home? I’m not going to screw my girlfriend around my dad or my little sister.” Zed didn’t mention that they had barely made it to first base, gagging at the thought of his dad walking around the house when he was... He didn’t even want to try and imagine what it would be like if Zoey was around. “I’m going to wake Addison,” Zed ducked out of the kitchen, returning to his bedroom where Addison was beginning to wake up.

She looked so beautiful, half-asleep in his bed, wearing his shirt. Sitting gently on the bed beside her, Zed hesitantly lifted his hand and stroked her hair back, tucking the strand behind her ear. “Good morning, gorgeous,” he whispered tenderly.

Addison’s eyes popped open at his touch. “Zed?” She sat upright, her hand catching his as it fell from her head. “It was real,” she murmured softly.

“Uh, my dad knows you’re here and I’m pretty sure he’s going to expect you downstairs for breakfast.” Zed rubbed his hands against his face in disbelief, before looking around the room. He walked over to the door, picking up a jacket. “I’ll, uh, let you get dressed.”

“I’ll be down in ten minutes?” Addison picked up her clothes and Zed awkwardly backed out of his room. Once downstairs, he could hear the faucet running.

“Don’t you want breakfast, Zed?” His sister asked, coming around the table with Puppy.

“Zoey, what would you say if I told you that we were having a very special guest over for breakfast today?” He knew that he was grinning, and his excitement only piqued his sister’s interest.

“When Eliza comes here, she always does my hair first thing. It hurts.” Zoey started counting off the people who might be in the house. “And Bonzo is an even better boy than you.”

Zed had to smile at that. When Bonzo had learned that Zoey loved dogs, he had upstaged every one of Zed’s performances by not only barking, but with games of fetch and peppery kisses on Zoey’s cheeks.

“And if it’s not Bonzo or Eliza…” Zoey was absolutely adorable when she was confused.

“Hey, Zoey,” Addison stepped into the kitchen, smiling anxiously. “Good morning, Mr. Necrodopolous.” If Zed’s father had any opinions about her spending the night, he kept them to himself, offering her a plate of fried cauliflower cakes. “Thanks.” Still smiling, she took her plate to the table, sitting in the chair that would place her beside Zed, and across from Zevon. Breakfast, though a quiet affair, was punctuated by bubbling commentary and questions from Zoey. Everything from the football game (champions) to how Puppy’s training was going (“he’s getting better, though!) to the most random questions that Zoey could think of (“why can’t zombies have cool latin names like everything else? Did you know that humans are also called homo sapiens? What if we were homo sapiens citrea viridia??? Lime soda people!")

Addison collected the plates from the table, bringing them over to the sink. Zevon looked from her to his son, raising his eyebrow meaningfully.

“Hey, Addi, you don’t have to do that. It’s my turn to do the dishes. At least let me do the washing.”

Addison giggled. “Sure. Just let me dry my hands off,” she flicked her fingers at Zed, water droplets speckling his face.

“Don’t start anything you don’t intend to finish, Addi,” Zed stuck his hands into the dishwater with a bit more force than necessary, causing the water to slosh over the countertop.

Once the dishes were cleaned, and the kitchen dried, Zed and Addison headed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So from research into zombies and a basic grasp of biology, my understanding is that Zed (and other male zombies) could get an erection because the Z-band allows him to process his emotions and not be full on monster and because his skin isn’t mottled/discoloured, there is clearly some blood circulation. That being said, I would assume that an erection can be a quite intense feeling, and that the Z-band should react to that. However, since Zed has hacked his Z-band, I’m guessing that there must be some sort of corrupted file (especially since he went full-zombie)… But then there was the software update. So I’m guessing that if he gets too into it, then the Z-band would react and shock him. But there’s a certain lenience there because who knows how energized a zombie would need to be shocked? Clearly, Zed can be excited and experience dopamine, as he’s shown being happy in the movie.
> 
> My research:  
> “…can a proper, read Romeo, zombie get an erection? Quite clearly no…their brains while remaining active on a basic level would not be able to process the emotional level required to enter a state of arousal and even if that was possible the lack of blood circulating the body would leave their diseased member as flaccid as Pele in his advertising viagra-era.”  
> ~ https://zombipedia.wordpress.com/articles/can-zombies-get-an-erection/
> 
> The Latinized lime soda people comes courtesy of Google Translate. After all, lime soda + humans = zombie!
> 
> As for zombie physiology… being undead, theoretically, Zed should be colder than humans, but that would mean that he is also more susceptible to cold. However, he’s also undead. From lime soda. So, I’m claiming artistic licence and Zed has a colder internal temperature, but his body is also not as responsive to external factors. How does this fit in with my above theory? His arousal stems from his attraction to Addison as a person, and not as some sort of reproductive instinct.
> 
> As an added note, I can not believe that I have been writing fic for ~5 years and I’ve never actually bothered to do any research into this. Not necessarily about zombies, but men. As a second addendum, I can’t believe I’m writing fanfic about zombies and this is what I’m researching. (I can’t believe that I have half a page of author’s notes either.) I’m writing a multichapter DCom fanfic. That’s new too.
> 
> Stand tall, Zoms! (But I don’t think most of us hit Milo’s purported 6’3 (“including the hair), as claimed in one of his youtube vids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5d40q0yYYg&list=UUM0Eb2rMnSHXjbKE3Lu45Tw&index=11 but the wiki page says 6’1”…)


	4. Brunch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What even is an update schedule?

Addison’s phone rang just as they stepped into the street. Glancing at the caller ID, Addison groaned. “I need to get this. It’s my parents,” she rolled her eyes.

“What, don’t they trust you to be at your cousin’s?”

“Hey, I got this. It’s ten a.m. on the dot. Bucky and the Aceys are grabbing brunch at the diner. We’ll drop in and say hello, and Bucky will truthfully tell my parents that you showed up to brunch and whisked me away.” Addison typed this into a quick text to her cousin, then answered the incoming call, pressing her free hand against Zed’s mouth to silence him. “Hey, Mom,” she said cheerfully. “Mmhm. Yeah, we’re going to have brunch. I think some of his friends are dropping by, so. Yeah, that’s them. I’m not sure. Finished it in study hall yesterday. Okay. Yeah. Love you, bye.”

“That’s a lie,” Zed smirked, knowing exactly what had happened in study hall the previous day.

Addison rolled her eyes. “Would have been the truth if someone hadn’t gotten out of gym class early.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault if my beautiful girlfriend can’t keep her hands off of me,” he shrugged. “If anyone other than Coach had seen that, by the way, we’d still be in detention. I was just holding your hand, sneaking a couple of kisses. You jumped me, remember?”

“Mm, what can I say? What’s a girl to do when her devastingly handsome boyfriend comes sauntering out of the locker room, water still dripping from his face?”

“Hey, Zed, now that the whole neighbourhood knows what happened yesterday, why don’t you guys get a MOVE ON,” called Eliza from her window. Zed smirked, taking Addison into his arms and dipping her. He looked into her eyes, seeing nothing but trust and love. His expression softened, and he pressed a soft, chaste kiss to her forehead before pulling her upright.

“We should go if we want Bucky to cover for us,” Addison giggled softly. Zed’s smirk returned, his eyes calculating.

“You know, I bet we could be at the diner before ten fifteen. The sooner we go, the sooner we can leave,” he said lowly, suddenly scooping his tiny cheerleader up. Addison shrieked, throwing her arms around her zombie as he took off down the streets.

Zed made it to the diner in ten minutes flat, still carrying Addison as they entered the restaurant. Bucky and the Aceys were easy to pick out in their cheer uniforms and Bucky was holding his phone mockingly as his cousin approached the table.

“Wasn’t sure you were gonna make it, cuz.”

“Well, here we are, so you have to keep your end of the deal.” Addison looked from Zed to Bucky, who nodded. “So, what’s on the menu today?”

“Yoghurt with fruit, whole wheat toast with avocado, eggs over easy, and orange juice. Should be here any minute,” Bucky smiled as the table’s waitress approached with the six orders.

Zed looked from the small plate of food to Bucky, back to the food, and finally to the waitress. “Hey, would it be possible to add, like, two more plates of eggs? And however much toast goes with that?”

The waitress raised her eyebrows. “Sure thing, sugar.”

Zed winced theatrically as his girlfriend hit his shoulder. “What? I’m hungry. Plus, I’m the star of the football team. I need to keep my strength up.”

The waitress returned a couple minutes later, replacing Zed’s empty plate with the new ones. Bucky and the Aceys were staring. “How on earth can you possibly eat that much food?” Zed shrugged.

“Bucky, would you believe me if I told you that we already had breakfast? Zed’s dad made basically pancakes and you should have seen how many this guy ate,” Addison shook her head in disbelief. Zed, somewhat sheepishly, shrugged again, still chowing down on his eggs.

Conversation was kept light through brunch. Now that the main goal of the meal was out of the way, the six teens had relaxed and the topics moved on to the upcoming winter holidays. Zed had no plans, except to spend as much time as humanly (zombie-ly) possible with Addison and to play with his little sister and her new puppy. Addison and Bucky’s family would be spending five days on the coast where their grandfather now lived. Jenny (aka Lacey) was flying across the country to her grandparents’, Lenny (aka Stacey)’s mother was hosting her five siblings and their kids, and Kenny’s (aka Tracey) parents were taking him out of state on a skiing trip.

“Zed, what’s wrong?” Addison stopped under a street light, the warm glow lighting up her face.

“Nothing. Everything’s fine, Addison. In fact, I’m a little surprised by how well today’s gone.”

Addison leaned into his touch, loving how his arm felt draped loosely over her shoulder. “Something’s bothering you.”

“It’s nothing, Addie. I promise.” A moment passed. “I forgot your family was leaving on the twenty-second.”

“Sounds like you might end up missing me, Necrodopolous.”

“Well, it is only our first time apart. Ever.” Zed didn’t mention the time last semester when the cheer squad had tried to force Addison to choose between cheerleading and zombies.

“I can promise you, you’ll have so many text messages from me that you’ll barely notice that I’m not actually here. Plus, then you and Bree, and maybe Eliza, could get to know each other a little better?” Addison suggested carefully. “I mean, you’re my, my boyfriend,” (she smiled shyly), “Bree’s my best friend and Eliza’s yours.”

“That’s actually a great idea. Plans for today?”

“I should probably get home before curfew tonight, especially if we want to go to the mash on new year’s. But, we just had (second) breakfast, we’ve got all day today.”

“Would it be too cheesy to say that I don’t care what we do as long as we’re together?” Zed laughed.

“Maybe. But I feel exactly the same.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet! Comments are always loved.


	5. a girl and a zombie

The young couple walked down the streets of Seabrook with no particular destination in mind, happy to simply be together. There were, of course, people who saw them together, people who saw them not as Zed and Addison, but as a zombie hanging around a young girl. They ignored them when they could. Addison threatened to have them arrested when they couldn’t. Zed threatened to eat them when they wouldn’t leave Addison alone.

“That’s not funny,” Addison twisted out of his arms.

Zed stood still, mouth agape. “It’s not supposed to be funny. It’s supposed to make them stop bothering you.”

Addison stared at him. “You mean it doesn’t bother you? Zed, what they were saying is horrible.” Zed mumbled something about it being a fairly common occurrence in Zombietown, when humans were brave enough to venture in. “We’re telling my dad when I go home. It’s not okay, they can’t go around saying things like that.”

“Addison, come on,”

“No, Zed. It’s not acceptable that you can’t walk around without people making judgments against you. That we can’t be us without people being scared that you’ll go offline and eat my brain. Zed, I lo-” Addison broke off. She looked into Zed’s eyes, reaching for his hand again, specifically the hand with the Z-band. She smiled sadly. “I love you, Zed.”

Zed closed his mouth. “Addy,” he whispered.

“I love you,” Addison repeated, her voice stronger. She laced her fingers through his, suddenly breathless as Zed took her back into his arms.

“I love you, Addison.”

As Addison looked into her zombie’s eyes, she knew, without a doubt, that the words they had just professed to each other were true. She could feel his breath, cold on her lips. The faint smell of cauliflower and mint toothpaste.

Nothing else in the world mattered. They were just two kids, stopped together in a park, sharing a special moment. Their lips touched lightly, once, then twice. The third time, Addison deepened the kiss, catching Zed’s bottom lip between her teeth. Addison was on her toes, Zed leaning down and craning his neck to reach her. The kiss broke. Addison’s breath hitched as Zed lifted her from the ground, trying to shorten the distance between them. With his arms supporting her, she was the one bending over to meet his lips. 

They stayed in their embrace for what felt like hours, though it was only a few minutes, until another passerby made a comment that punctured their bubble of bliss.

“Let it go, Addy,” Zed mumbled, his mouth still pressed against hers as he lowered her back to the ground. His hands found their face to her face, shielding the outside world from view. He kissed her again, but this time her response was half-hearted, and she pulled back.

“It’s not right, Zed. Movies and long walks in the park… someday’s not enough. I want us to have that now. If only other people could see you the way I do,” Addison paused.

“Then you’d be fighting the girls off me tooth and nail,” Zed grinned, trying to lighten the mood. He’d spent his entire life being a zombie first and foremost. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to go back to being a couple of teenagers alone in the park.

“My curfew’s in ten minutes,” Addison gasped. “I need to go home.” She looked around for the nearest street sign, then groaned. “I’m gonna be late…”

Zed’s grin grew wider, splitting his face. “I have an idea.” Addison raised her eyebrows, silently asking for more. “Can I just say, I’m not the fullback just because I’m good at blocking. The other aspect of my position is running.” He knelt to the ground, holding his arms out to his sides. Addison laughed when she realized what he was doing, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Ready?” He whispered into her ear, feeling her nod in response.

Zed was fast. He flew down the streets and sidewalks, easily navigating the straightest path across the town. Addison kept her face tucked into his neck, the cool night wind stinging at her eyes whenever she chanced a look. With two minutes to spare, the kids hit the cul-de-sac and the night was (yet again) nearly over far too quickly. Zed lightly crouched to the ground, allowing his girlfriend to easily slip onto the asphalt.

“Good night, Addi.” Zed smirked, trying to play the part of suave football stud.

“No, Zed,” said Addison firmly. “I meant what I said – it’s not acceptable. This is how we can make a real change. With football, they didn’t care about you. They cared that you were winning games for them. But they continue to do this to you after all that and I can’t stand by while they do that to you.”

Zed stood there, mouth slightly open. “Addison, it’s not as simple as your dad doing… what exactly?”

“My mother, then. She’s the mayor, they’re already modifying the language structures of the laws to explicitly include zombies in the definition of person. It’s harassment, it’s…racist? Ableist? Whatever it is, it’s wrong and it’s going to be stopped.”

The porch lights flashed.

“You’re not a monster, Zed,” Addison said softly.

Zed wished he could believe her.

The lights flashed again.

“We’ll drive you home. What happened… Zed, please.” Addison’s mind came up with a mess of words, all of them inadequate to describe what she was thinking. Zed must have somehow understood what she was trying to communicate, because he transferred her hand to his other side, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Zed’s instinct was to tease her about not being able to let go, but he understood her concern. They walked side by side up the steps, Zed following Addison into the house. Missy and Dale were waiting just in the entrance. Missy made a small noise of shock when Zed entered the house; Addison’s grip on his hand was calm and reassuring.

“Dad, it’s getting late. We lost track of the time and I was hoping you could drive Zed home?”

Zed looked at Addison’s family, then shrugged. “It’s not too far of a walk, sir,” he said stiffly.

“Zed, no. We already discussed this. Dad, they wouldn’t stop. All day, people were saying such horrible things. They threatened Zed.”

“You threatened them back,” Zed mumbled the reminder.

“Yeah. And I’m following through.” Addison’s face softened. “I’m just rooting for us,” she said gently.

Dale had already fished his keys from his pocket. “It’s late, you’ve had your share of trouble for the day, and you’re fifteen. And I happen to know that Zevon is waiting up for you, Zed.” He shrugged at Zed’s look of confusion. “I’m the chief, kid. All in a day’s work.” The role of zombie patrol was changing. Helping zombies instead of prosecuting them. “He’s worried. Rightfully so, it would appear. Let’s go.”

“Yes sir.” Zed followed Dale to the car, Addison beside him. Dale said nothing.

It was late and the roads were empty. It was late and Addison was having trouble keeping her eyes open. Zed slowly became aware of a soft buzzing noise. He looked down to see his girlfriend snoring on his chest. Dale turned up the radio, and Zed shifted in the seat, smiling at the sleeping human. When they arrived at the Necrodopolous home, Zed removed Addison’s grip on his forearms with ease. She stirred as he left the seat beside her and Zed stared at her, an exhausted smile on his lips. He leaned forward back into the car, hesitating before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. From the front seat, Dale said nothing, but turned down the radio.

“Good night, sir,” Zed opened the car door gently as to not wake her.

“No more impromptu sleepovers, Zed.” Dale looked at his daughter’s boyfriend, his expression unreadable. “I was a teenager once too, you know. I know that my daughter didn’t randomly decide to spend the night at her cousin’s after your date. Just…be careful.”

“We’re fifteen…” Zed said uselessly.

Dale nodded. “I’d best get her home.”

“Good night, sir.” Zed exited the car, which stayed running in the street until the front door had closed. He was about to head upstairs when he noticed the kitchen lights were still on. Sighing as he ran a hand through his hair, Zed entered the room. “I’m home, Dad.”

Zevon lifted his head from the table, where he had clearly been dozing. “Curfew, son.”

“Hey, the Chief drove me home,” Zed replied. “I’m going to bed. Good night, Dad.”

“Good night, son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These kids just can’t leave each other alone! First Addison walks Zed home. Then Zed walks Addi home. And now Addison’s taking Zed back to Zombietown again! But they’re still kids. There’s so much fic where kids are doing adult stuff. Now, I might be out of the loop, being in my twenties and aro, but I need these kids to be weirded out by going too far. They’re kids.


End file.
